'Sven denied Faria affair'

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson allegedly told his FA boss he had never had an affair with Faria Alam, the personal assistant later exposed as his lover.

FA executive director David Davies said Eriksson had clearly denied any relationship with Ms Alam when first quizzed about the allegations.

The clear implication that Mr Eriksson lied to his employer once again raises questions over his future just as he prepares England for the final stages of the Germany 2006 World Cup qualifiers.

The revelations came on the fourth day of an employment tribunal in which Ms Alam, 39, claims she was sexually discriminated against by her former employers.

There is now growing pressure on Mr Eriksson to appear at the tribunal to clear up whether he indeed misled or lied to the FA over the affair.

She claims she was treated differently to Eriksson by being forced to resign after lying to Mr Davies and other officials over her affair with the England coach.

Eriksson was allowed to keep his job after an internal FA investigation found he "had no case to answer." But today Mr Davies clear Eriksson had left him with the clear impression that he had not had an affair with his PA.

He said: "I spoke to Sven and Faria, both of whom denied there was any truth to that story."

Mr Davies, 57, was phoned at home on 17 July 2004 by News of the World editor Andy Coulson, who asked if he knew Eriksson was having an affair with Ms Alam.

Mr Davies rang Eriksson several times and when they finally made contact he asked about the allegation.

"I can say what I believed quite clearly at the end of that conversation was that he was not having an affair with my personal assistant," the FA director told the tribunal. "He seemed quite taken aback by my direct questions."

Mr Davies then spoke to Ms Alam, who also denied an affair. The FA later issued a statement denying the coach had ever had an affair with Ms Alam.

The following day, when Ms Alam was named as Eriksson's lover, he arrived back from a holiday in Sweden to be told by Mr Davies that Faria's name was in the papers.

Mr Davies told the tribunal: "He said he had never commented in public about his private life and and we did not discuss the subject."

However Ms Alam approached Mr Davies and asked him and the FA to help her cope with the publicity now surrounding her. "The FA wanted to protect her. I asked her again directly."

On July 24, while he was on holiday, Mr Davies got a call from the deputy editor of the News of the World, Neil Wallis, who told him the FA's chief executive Mark Palios had had an affair with Ms Alam.

The FA was at that stage trying to negotiate a deal with the NoW in which Faria Alam would be interviewed about her affair with Sven in return for the paper making no mention of her six-month relationship with Mr Palios.

Mr Davies said he was stunned by Mr Wallis's phone call. He said: "To describe myself as astounded would be an understatement."

Today Mr Davies also denied Ms Alam's dramatic allegations that he had sexually harassed her as a mixture of fantasy and half-truths.